One more week of advocacy to fund the fund

June 8, 2011

Thanks to your hard work, we won major restorations to the Continuum of Housing in this year’s budget.

May 25th was a big vote, but there’s one more big vote ahead on June 14th before DC’s budget gets sent to the Mayor and Congress-and we need your voice and energy to advocate for the budget one more time!

Confused? A quick explanation: On May 25th, the DC Council took the first of two votes on the Budget Support Act, the series of laws that need to be approved for the budget to become law. The budget approved on May 25 restored about $27 million to safety net programs plus $1.7 million for the small business technical assistance, and if the District experiences an uptick in revenue this year, they will restore up to $33 million more.

The majority of CNHED’s priority program restorations come in the commitment of future revenue. Among those $33 million are some key programs in the Continuum of Housing:
$18.0 million – Housing Production Trust Fund
$1.6 million – Housing First
$1.2 million – Department of Mental Health housing vouchers
$2.5 million – Homeless Services
(see full list below)

We realize that there is pressure on the Council to roll back some of the revenue, jeopardizing the funding for the Continuum of Housing, especially the full funding of the Housing Production Trust Fund. We’re asking your help for one more week to make sure these programs stay in the final budget.

We support full funding for the Trust Fund and the rest of the Continuum of Housing. Please ask the DC Council to continue to support the Trust Fund and the creation and preservation of affordable housing in Washington, DC by reaffirming the future funding priorities identified on May 25 in the second Budget Support Act reading on June 14.

Friday: Join the Continuum of Housing Campaign, Save Our Safety Net and our allies on Friday, June 10 at 10 AM. We will visit the Councilmembers who supported the full restoration of the Housing Production Trust Fund and the rest of the Continuum of Housing. We will thank the Councilmembers who supported restorations for their action, and encourage them to carry their conviction and our needs into the second vote on June 14.

Tuesday: Finally, come out to witness the second vote on the Budget Support Act Tuesday, June 14 at 10 AM in the Council Chamber. Wear your yellow shirts to let them know we want them to stand with the Continuum of Housing. (And we’ll have some on hand if you don’t have one!)

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Many CNHED priority programs are on the list for future revenue. This is the list for future program funding in the order that funding would be prioritized. Continuum of Housing programs are starred.

• $10.8 million to hire more police officers.
• ***$1.6 million for the Housing First program (to avoid forcing participants to move to LRSP units)
• ***$12 million for the Housing Production Trust Fund (partially restoring an $18 million cut)
• $5 million for the Department of Mental Health
• $3 million for Interim Disability Assistance
• ***$6 million for the Housing Production Trust Fund (to fully restore funding)
• $900,000 for children’s mental health services
• ***$2.5 million for homeless services
• $300,000 to keep MLK Library open on Sundays
• $1.8 million for the Commercial Revitalization program in the Department of Small and Local Business Development
• $3 million to reduce parking meter rates from $2 an hour to $1
•$1.4 million for DC Public Library book acquisitions
$2 million for early childhood educations
•$508,000 for DC Emancipation Day and $500,000 for Lincoln Theater

Housing for All Blog is a project of the Housing For All Campaign. We believe all District residents deserve decent, quality housing at a price they can afford, and call on District officials to create a full Continuum of Housing that will meet that need.